The Backfire

NYT columnist blasts Left for witch hunt after Tucson shooting
It’s not Ross Douthat or David Brooks, either, but Charles Blow — the same writer who once called black Tea Party Activists a “political Minstrel Show.”  Blow admits that the temptation to lay the blame for the shootings in Tucson on the Right was strong, but that in doing so, and in insisting on sticking with the attacks after all the evidence showed that the shooter was an apolitical lunatic, the Left have adopted an “any means necessary” approach that wi...

Quote of the Day
According to a USA Today/Gallup Poll released Wednesday, 42 percent of those asked said that political Rhetoric was not a factor at all in the shooting, 22 percent said that it was a minor factor and 20 percent said that it was a major factor. Furthermore, most agreed that focusing on conservative Rhetoric as a link in the shooting was “not a legitimate point but mostly an attempt to use the tragedy to make Conservatives look bad.” And nearly an equal number of people said that Repu...

Loughner Video Released By Community College
This appeared last night and the reaction from folks on Twitter and email was that it's a tough watch. The guy is genuinely disturbed. We knew that but to hear and see it so clearly is pretty shocking. I would love to sit with Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Paul Krugman and the like to watch this. Then when it's over, I'd like them to explain to me how they think this broken and damaged man was in any way influenced by the 'tone' of our political discourse. Yes, his ramblings involve phrases...

Sunday Talk - The Power of Words
In the immediate aftermath of last Saturday's horrific shooting in Tuscon, critics were quick to assign blame to the violent Rhetoric and imagery employed by Sarah Palin and her Tea Party compatriots. But to hear Palin tell it in a video posted on Facebook Wednesday morning, not only is the charge bloody ridiculous, it's also bloody libelous. In her view, she was not a cause of the shooting; rather, she is a Victim. Meanwhile, later that same day, President Obama delivered what was arguably the...

HOW BAD WAS THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF TUCSON? So bad that Charles Blow is writing about The Tucson Wit
HOW BAD WAS THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF Tucson? So bad that Charles Blow is writing about “The Tucson Witch Hunt.” Within hours of the shooting, there was a full-fledged witch hunt to link the shooter to the right. “I saw Goody Proctor with The Devil! Oh, I mean Jared Lee Loughner! Yes him. With The Devil!” The only problem is that there was no evidence then, and even now, that overheated Rhetoric from the right had anything to do with the shooting. (In fact, a couple of people who s...

ABC World News omits threat was made against Tea Party leader
Newsbusters reports Saturday evening that ABC World News Saturday failed to mention the target of an alleged threat at a taped townhall meeting was a Tea Party Leader. Another note tonight on today's town hall meeting, one of the Victims of the shooting who was in the audience became agitated and was detained by security. It happened toward the end of the conversation. James Fuller who was shot twice last week, took offense at what another audience member was saying and mumbled what seemed to be...

Season of the Witchhunt
The last week has been the greatest learning experience in modern America for those who ever questioned the wretched excess of Leftism in practice. Not since Pol Pot sought out its Victims has a political philosophy so demonstrated its willingness to single out its foes, attack its opponents credibility and criticize the opposition as standing in the way of social progress. And not since the Reichstag fire has a political philosophy been so willing to use a terrible event as an excuse for the wo...

IT DID NOT
From the WSJ The New York Times’s response to last weekend’s murders in Tucson was to instigate a witch hunt against Republican politicians and “particularly” against members of the independent (nonliberal) media. Yet that is not what one would call a broad appeal-a point powerfully made by a USA Today news story: Most Americans reject the idea that inflammatory political language by Conservatives should be part of the debate about the forces behind the Arizona s...

Test for pols: Can they behave after the Tucson shooting?
House Republicans delayed a vote planned last Wednesday on rolling back the Health Care overhaul while Giffords is being treated in a Tucson Hospital. When they turn back to the health law on Tuesday, Republicans will focus on moderating their tone, Strategists said, in contrast with some lawmakers' stronger language from last year's campaign. "There's going to be a natural cautiousness," said pollster David Winston, who advises GOP leaders. "Members a...

Baseless smears and hypocritical demands for 'civility' follow Tucson shootings
Although the Tucson shooter was mentally unbalanced, did not listen to Talk Radio or Fox News, and liked the Communist Manifesto, several liberal lawmakers, and liberal media like the New York Times, immediately insinuated that his actions resulted from an “atmosphere of hate” or “climate of hate” created by Conservatives. Now, after baselessly accusing conservatives of complicity in Murder, they are suddenly calling for “civility.” But thi...

A lefty apology
Charles Blow of the New York Times looked at how the left leaped to accuse — falsely — the right of inspiring a whack job to kill in Arizona, and showed remorse in his weekly column on Saturday. From Charles Blow: “You can’t claim the higher ground in a pit of quicksand. Concocting connections to advance an argument actually weakens it. The argument for tonal moderation has been done a tremendous disservice by those who sought to score political points in the absence of pro...

Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
Sunday punditry. John McCain: I disagree with many of the president's policies, but I believe he is a patriot sincerely intent on using his time in office to advance our country's cause. I reject accusations that his policies and beliefs make him unworthy to lead America or opposed to its founding ideals. And I reject accusations that Americans who vigorously oppose his policies are less intelligent, compassionate or just than those who support them. See commentary below, but the commendable ...

Countdown Previews The Hannitization Of Sarah Palin Monday
Ah, finally: a neologism related to Sarah Palin not coined by her. With the help of Slate’s Dave Weigel , fill-in host Chris Hayes gave a spot on Friday’s Countdown to the reinvention of the fake verb “Hannitize”- once used by the man Sean Hannity himself to describe the process by which viewers are converted to his political views, now employed as a way to describe interviews between Hannity and Conservatives that have said messy things in the news before going on ...

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other
Ronald Reagan had two sons who are pictured below. Ron Reagan Jr. on the left and Michael Reagan on the right. One is a conservative and one is a liberal, can you guess which is which? Let me help you out. Ron Reagan Jr. just published a book claiming his father had Alzheimer’s while he was still president… The most stunning revelation that Ron Jr. makes is his suspicion that his father entered the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease long before it was made public. “Thr...

The Top 10 Most Ridiculous Left-Wing Attacks on U.S. Conservatives Following the Arizona Shootings
From Nile Gardiner, at Telegraph UK, "A Shameful Week for America's Liberal Elites": This has been a hugely shameful week for sections of the American Left, who have exploited a horrific tragedy that claimed six lives, in order to advance political attacks upon some leading conservative politicians and media commentators, as well as an entire political movement in the form of the Tea Party. The vitriolic and hate-filled attacks have marked a low point for liberal media elites in America in the ...

Stanek Sunday funnies 1-16-11
Liberal Cartoonists sickened me this week with their depiction of Conservatives as inciting the violence in Arizona. In actuality, it’s the opposite. Everyone who spends any time in their world, particularly online, knows their Rhetoric is expletive- and hate-ridden, not to mention they support the Murder of thousands of innocent babies daily. A couple examples, first by Clay Jones at GoComics.com …...

Study: Americans see Palin as more sincere and believable after viewing speech
A national study conducted by Media Curves finds that Americans see Sarah Palin as more sincere and believable after viewing the Speech she gave last Wednesday in response to the shootings in Tucson. 1,437 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents were polled January 13 and 14 by HCD Research.  According to Media Curves, participants were asked to rate Palin on a scale from 1-7 regarding likeability, believability and sincerity, with 1 representing “not at all strong in th...

Rethinking Obama's political performance in Tucson
Pundits and politicians alike praised President Obama's Speech at the Tucson memorial service last Wednesday. "A wonderful speech," wrote the New York Times' David Brooks. "A magnificent performance," wrote National Review's Rich Lowry. "A terrific speech," wrote Sen. John McCain. And those were just the voices on the right. Obama's tribute to the Victims of the shooting and the heroism of bystanders was appreciated by everyone. But many Conservatives particularly admired the Speech because the ...

Mission accomplished, Markos Moulitsas.
The Left gets its violent responder to Hate Speech, after all: the only problem is, from their point of view he’s aimed the wrong way. I started following the saga of J. Eric Fuller a couple of days ago: the short version is that he was one of the Victims of the Tucson attack of last week that killed six people and nearly killed Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.  Despite the fact that the consensus is, from the President on down, that harsh political Rhetoric had nothing to do with the ...

Tuscon Shooting Victim Arrested, Shouting Death Threats To Tea Partier
James Eric Fuller was one of the 19 people that were shot in Tuscon when a madmen unloaded his gun on Congress woman Giffords and many of her supporters. Within hours of the senseless Shooting Spree, many on the Left (including Fuller) decided to blame the Right for stirring up the violence even though the shooter had absolutely no connections to conservative beliefs. Sadly the blame game has led to Fuller being arrested Saturday for shouting out death threats to a Tea Party member. Saturday, at...

Angels in Arizona.....
Christian Gilmour decided that the Funerals needed protection when she heard that the Westboro Church had planned to Protest Christina Green's funeral and the others funerals. Even though a law was passed this week to protect the Funeral of the youngest Victim, the Westboro Baptist Church had still planned their hate filled Vigils. So she organized people to stand and protect the Funeral Processions and the Grievers from this Hateful group. So they made Angel Wings and others came wearing whit...

Eric Fuller, Tucson shooting victim, threatens Tea Party leader Humphries
 Eric Fuller, Tucson, Arizona Shooting Victim, was arrested Saturday after threatening Arizona Tea Party Leader Trent Humphries. James Eric Fuller, 63, was arrested after yelling "you're dead" at Humphries while taping a special edition of ABC's "This Week" with Christiane Amanpour.  Fuller was arrested on Misdemeanor disorderly conduct and threat charges and taken for a psychiatric evaluation. Fuller, along with Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was one of 19 people shot by Ja...

When Even Excitable Charles Blow Thinks The Left Went Nuts With Their Blamestorming
…Then most assuredly, they did. Charles calls his op-ed The Tucson Witch Hunt, and he believes the Left was way off base, and, consider, this comes from a super liberal with his head in the sand, who says later in the article I have written about violent Rhetoric before, and I’m convinced that it’s poisonous to our politics, that the preponderance of it comes from the right, and that it has the potential to manifest in massacres like the one in Tucson. Obviously, he doesn’...

When Even Excitable Charles Blow Thinks The Left Went Nuts With Their Blamestorming…
...Then most assuredly, they did. Charles calls his op-ed The Tucson Witch Hunt, and he believes the Left was way off base, and, consider, this comes from a super liberal with his head in the sand, who says later in the articleI have written about violent Rhetoric before, and I’m convinced that it’s poisonous to our politics, that the preponderance of it comes from the right, and that it has the potential to manifest in massacres like the one in Tucson.Obviously, he doesn't get aroun...

Guess whos issuing death threats in Arizona?
Via Doug Powers (blogging @ Michelle Malkin) comes this about “J. Eric Fuller, who was shot in the knee” last weekend in Tucson: When Tucson Tea Party founder Trent Humphries rose to suggest that any conversation about Gun Control should be put off until after the funerals for all the Victims, witnesses say Fuller became agitated.  Two told KGUN9 News that finally, Fuller took a picture of Humphries, and said, “You’re dead.” Fuller, as Law Professor William A.